My Best Friend PART II

I waited for her in the living room. I saw that the living room was very well organized with books in one corner, a grand piano in another corner with the fireplace right next to it. It was a very cozy room indeed and I felt right at home.

Soon Tiffany came down. She was wearing a red frock with black laces, her hair was tied up in a red ribbon and her cheeks were pale yet rosy.

“Now you two have fun, and don’t wander too far. Remember how easily you catch cold Tiffany, do be careful.”

The rest of the afternoon we just sat by the ol’ tree near the chapel. I told Tiffany all about the town and about the guys. I also apologized about what happened that night. She said it was ok, she hadn’t wanted to come but her mom had asked her to. We had a lovely talk and soon I walked her back to her house and went home for tea.

However, you cannot always hold all the marbles in your hand and not drop any. Some of my friends had seen me with her, and they had secretly spied over me, even recording what we had said. The next day they started poking fun at me, accusing me of liking her and such stuff, and I got so angry that I gave Freddy a box on his ear. After that he and three other guys started attacking me. Just as it was raining fists on my face, ol’ Moe suddenly showed up and chased my friends away.

My nose was bleeding badly, so Moe took me to his house. It was the first time that I had been inside his house and I admit, I was a little scared.

“So, why was your friends beating you to a pulp, huh?”

I told Moe all that happened and he broke out into a loud laugh. Rubbing the blood off my face he proceeded to tell me this story about himself:

“Aye, there was this strange girl I met a good many years back. I was young then, about your age. She was very silent and she fascinated me. I wanted to go make friends with her but never had the courage. Once I saw her being teased by the town bullies and she was crying. I ran to her and helped her out. From that day me and her were slowly becoming good friends.

Years passed we were still good friends but I started realizing that people started making fun of me as she was just the daughter of an old man who lived outside town buying and selling junk and my father was the head of this here post-office, so I started avoiding her and last I heard of her, she ran away, it’s rumored she eloped with someone or something I heard, am not sure though. Rumors are hardly true but anyways she did disappear. But I don’t mean to bore ya son, just telling you a little part of my history. Anyways my advice to you be don’t a start drinkin like me, hehehe, I was once wealthy man but look at me now.”

I thanked Moe for everything and soon left for home. I grew so restless that night, what was happening to me, why couldn’t I stop thinking about little Tiffany. In my heart I started hating her. She was the reason why I fought with my good friends. I decided never to see her again but I couldn’t stop thinking about her though.

Christmas and New Year celebrations were over and it was time again for school. That year of school flew by. Mrs. Winters turned out to be a great teacher and all of us, even lil’ Stu came out with flying colors. However the only student who didn’t do well was Tiffany which surprised us as she was the teacher’s daughter and we expected her to top the class, but she came dead last. But I told myself I wasn’t gonna bother myself with her, my friends were more important.

Many a time, Mrs. Winters came to me and asked me to come over to their house for tea but I always had one excuse or another and so I always managed to escape going there.

It had been a whole year since I had last spoken to Tiffany and I was starting to forget all about her and life was slowly getting back to normal. One day I went for a walk to the lake. It was unbelievably cold that day, it snowed for the first time in many years and I just wanted to see the frozen lake. I reached the lake in half an hour and sat in silence.

Suddenly I saw a small squirrel, a thin, tiny one, walking around in the snow. I fixed my eyes on it. There was a group of other healthier looking squirrels near it and they were feasting on some nuts. The small squirrel tried to join them but they kept on chasing it away. Soon it gave up and hobbled away. I was angry at the other bullies for not sharing with him and was about to chase them off when I heard a sobbing sound.

I followed the sound and soon I saw a person sitting by himself in the snow bank weeping. I was about to go down and ask why he was crying when suddenly I noticed it wasn’t a boy, it was Tiffany!

I just stood there and watched her. After ten or so minutes I could no longer bear it, so I went down and called her name. She looked at me in surprise.

“What are you doing here, Tiffany? Does your mother know you are here? Hey, you might get sick, come, I’ll take you home.”

She stopped crying and stared at me.

“You mean, you’ll really walk me home?”

“Yes, I will… I’m sorry I’ve ignored you like this. I’m sorry…..”

“Thank you, Billy…I thought that no one in this world really cared for me. I know my mom loves me but I often hear her crying alone and I know it’s because she wished I was never born. When you came and asked me out last year, it was on this exact date, the 15th of December, I felt so happy, Billy, coz I believed I found a friend at last. But I heard you got beaten up because of me, that was why you stayed away, but I understand Billy, and thank you… you’re my best friend.”

With that she came and hugged me and gave me a peck on the cheek. My whole being felt warm and nice but I didn’t know what to say. I just smiled at her. From that moment I didn’t care what happened to me anymore. Tiffany was now my friend, and I was proud of it. I walked her home, her mom had been worried sick about her and when she saw her she came running and hugged her and kissed her and she kept on thanking me.

“Tiffany, where have you been? Don’t you know how much I’ve been looking for you? Don’t ever scare me like this again, you’re all I have in this world, please realize that, you’re my everything,” sobbed Mrs. Winters in between her tears.

I was invited in for tea and we had a wonderful conversation. I found out that Mrs. Winters was as a good as person as she was as a teacher and now I was proud that I could call her and Tiffany my friends. So what if Megan and the others mocked me, I had new friends and a new circle now and I was filled with joy. I even gave Tiffany my prized shell necklace. I had found the shell when my family and I had gone to the ocean-side for a vacation. I had had it with me ever since. Tiffany squealed with delight when I gave her that necklace.

The next day I was very eager to go visit Tiffany but since it was snowing heavily it was impossible to go anywhere so I stayed indoors all day. I had heard that she was also a bit sick from the previous day’s outing which made me even keener to go and visit her. But the steady downfall of whiteness kept on getting thicker and thicker and so I had to shelve my plans.

The next morning right after breakfast, I packed a few loaves of bread, courtesy of my mom and headed out towards Tiffany’s home full of joy. I was very eager to see her and I knew that she too was eagerly waiting for me.

I arrived at the house at 9 o’clock and knocked on the door. Mrs. Winters opened the door with tear strained eyes.

“Come in, Billy. Tiffany’s been expecting you. In fact she told me not to let anyone see her before you do.”

I followed Mrs. Winters into Tiffany’s room and when I entered the room my whole being was left in a state of shock and my jaw just dropped open. It was Tiffany lying on the bed, pale as a white spring flower and still as the silence of the night. She was dead! I looked closely and found that my necklace was held tightly in her right hand and pressed against her now still heart. I didn’t know what to say or do; I just stood and stared at her. But even though she was gone, she looked so peaceful and there was even a semblance of a peaceful smile on her face.

Mrs. Winters hugged me and tears just poured forth from her eyes and soul, but I still didn’t know what to do. After she had dried her eyes she said this to me:

“She passed away at exactly half past eight this morning. I couldn’t call a doctor because I couldn’t leave her alone. She kept on saying: ‘Don’t worry mom, Billy will soon be here and everything will be all right. Until he comes I won’t let anyone touch me or see me. He’s given me so much happiness mom. He’s the one person besides you who cares for me and he has also helped me to see how much you really care and love me too mom. He’s my best friend.’ She breathed her last shortly after saying those words.

But at least she died happy. You see, she was conceived here many years ago and since I couldn’t tell anyone, I ran away and even changed my name. But I simply had to come back , this is my home and now at least I should be glad that this place which is a home and yet a source of so much pain to me should be the place where my daughter finds true happiness-a happiness that will stay with her forever and for always. And I have you to thank for that, Billy, thank you, you were and will always be Tiffany’s Best Friend."

Below is a song called "Love Is" by Yuko Ohigashi, the inspiration behind the story.